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Just how long can West Ham keep hold of Ravel Morrison for?

Morrison has been in impressive Premier League form, will other clubs soon be after his services like Manchester City were earlier this year?

There has been plenty of talk about Ravel Morrison both on the pitch and off of it.

However, it is great to see how his standout performance for West Ham United side at White Hart Lane has been attracting headlines for the right reasons. His goal against Tottenham on Sunday rounded off the victory was befitting of an exciting player that you would normally see playing amongst Europe's elite clubs.

Sam Allardyce even said after the triumph that the player's attitude seems to be matching his talent. He told the BBC: ‘He’s learned so much in a short period of time. As we say, the penny’s dropped. Sometimes it takes a while and sometimes it can happen overnight.

‘Sir Alex [Ferguson] told me when we took him: 'I hope you can sort him out because if you can you’re going to have a top class player on your hands.' I’m not sure I’ve sorted him out, I think he’s sorted himself out, and he’s begun to enjoy his football which is what he loves so much.

‘He enjoys being with the lads, he listens to what the experienced players are going to say and he can do something that no-one else can do in our side and we saw that today.’

It’s the ‘can do something that no-one else can in our side’ line that stands out. That is the kind of player that attracts the very top clubs. If Morrison keeps on the straight and narrow path that he looks to be on at the moment, then how long will it be before other clubs come calling? After all, Manchester City were press-linked with a swoop in April, earlier this year, after he had already swapped employers from United to West Ham.

Obviously, West Ham will want to keep hold of such a talented footballer for as long as possible, and will no doubt hope to build a team around him that can progress up the Premier League, ensure their status gets healthier in order to keep hold of good players like Morrison.

If he keeps this kind of form up, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a bid upwards of £15m tabled for him to go elsewhere, would it?

Ian Bolland

A journalism graduate of Liverpool John Moores University. During his time at university, Ian spent time on work experience at local newspapers in Liverpool, Bolton and Wigan, and prior to that he did work for The Observer's 'fans verdict'. Ian also has interests in news, current affairs and business but mostly sport, including football, rugby league, cricket, golf and Formula 1, amongst others.